He didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at me.
Instead, he turned to Pierre, his voice shaking. "I-if you want her, then we won’t stand in your way."
I felt the ground drop out from beneath me, my legs threatening to give way. "What?" I choked out, unable to believe what I was hearing. This was my fiancé, the man I had trusted, the man who was supposed to protect me! But in the face of danger, he was giving me up without a fight.
Pierre’s smile widened, his dark satisfaction evident. He took a step closer, his presence dominating the room, while Matthias and his family retreated in fear. I could hardly breathe.
"I won’t risk the safety of my pack to protect a woman like you, Raphaella. You know what’s at stake," Matthias coldly said.
A woman like me. The words struck me harder than any blow could have. My breath caught in my throat as I tried to process what he had just said. Matthias, the man I had been ready to marry, the man who was supposed to love and protect me, was abandoning me.
My mind raced, trying to grasp the reality of the situation. I had always known I wasn’t the perfect choice for an Alpha’s wife. I was an orphan, after all, without the noble lineage that his family prized so much. But I thought our bond would be stronger than this.
"Matthias, I—" I started, my voice cracking as I reached out for him, desperate to find some trace of the man I thought he was. But he stepped away from me, shaking his head.
"It’s not personal, Raphaella," he said, his tone cold and detached. "But I have a responsibility to my pack. The Lycan King wants you. I can’t put everyone else in danger just to save one person. Especially someone like you."
Tears pricked my eyes, blurring my vision. "Someone like me?" I repeated my voice barely above a whisper. "I thought you loved me... I thought we were—"
"Don’t make this harder than it has to be," he cut me off, his expression hardening. "You’re an orphan, Raphaella. You don’t have the status or the power to stand against someone like Pierre Grassi. If I defy him, it could mean the end of our entire pack. You understand that, don’t you?"
I shook my head, disbelief mingling with the growing sense of betrayal. How could he say this?
"You see?" Pierre murmured in my ear, his voice as smooth and venomous as a snake. "They’ve already given up on you."